采 (cǎi) — to pick, to pluck (flowers, fruit, tea); to collect, to gather (samples, data, ore); to select, to choose (candidates, personnel)
Definition
Literary/formal verb covering 'pick, collect, select' — 摘 is the everyday word for picking flowers/fruit, 挑选 is for choosing people/things; 采 appears more in writing and compounds like 采集/采摘.
verb
to pickto pluck (flowers, fruit, tea)to collectto gather (samples, data, ore)to selectto choose (candidates, personnel)
Examples
- 采。Nóng mín men zǎo shàng wǔ diǎn jiù qù cǎi chá le.The farmers go to pick tea at five in the morning.
- 采。Yán jiū rén yuán cóng hé lǐ cǎi le shuǐ yàng.The researchers collected water samples from the river.
- 采。Tā men cóng hòu xuǎn rén zhōng cǎi zé le sān wèi.They selected three people from the candidates.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 採; 采 is its simplified writing.
The simplified 采 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (采访, 采购) it is 採; in others it is 采.
The traditional form 採 combines 扌 (hand) with 采, which gives the sound and means to pick.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.